Capturing views of men, women and youth on agricultural biodiversity resources consumed in Barotseland, Zambia

This paper presents data and findings from focus group discussions in study communities selected by the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) in the Western Province of Zambia. The discussions focused on cultivated crops and vegetables collected from open fields and consumed as food. Participatory tools for agricultural biodiversity (agrobiodiversity) assessment were used to capture community perspectives on plant species and varietal diversity; factors influencing the availability and use of plants for food; unique, common and rare crop species cultivated in a community, identified through a four-cell analysis methodology; and core problems, root causes, effects and necessary actions to tackle them, using problem tree or situation analysis methods

Nutrients and bioactive compounds content of Baillonella toxisperma, Trichoscypha abut and Pentaclethra macrophylla from Cameroon

Baillonella toxisperma, Pentaclethra macrophylla and Trichoscypha abut are important foods for communities living around forests in Cameroon. Information on the nutritional value and bioactive content of these foods is required to establish their contribution to the nutrition and health of the communities. Samples of the three foods were obtained from four villages in east and three villages in south Cameroon. The foods were analyzed for proximate composition, minerals and bioactive content using standard chemical analysis methods. T. abut was found to be an excellent source of bioactive compounds; flavonoids (306 mg/100 g), polyphenols (947 mg/100 g), proanthocyanins (61.2 mg/100 g), vitamin C (80.05 mg/100 g), and total oxalates (0.6 mg/100 g). P. macrophylla was found to be a rich source of total fat (38.71%), protein (15.82%) and total fiber (17.10%) and some bioactive compounds; vitamin E (19.4 mg/100 g) and proanthocyanins (65.0 mg/100 g). B. toxisperma, was found to have high content of carbohydrates (89.6%), potassium (27.5 mg/100 g) and calcium (37.5 mg/100 g). Flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamins C and E are the main bioactive compounds in these forest foods. The daily consumption of some of these fruits may coffer protection against some ailments and oxidative stress. Approximately 200 g of either B. toxisperma or P. macrophylla, can supply 100% iron and zinc RDAs for children aged 1–3 years, while 300 g of the two forest foods can supply about 85% iron and zinc RDAs for non-pregnant non-lactating women. The three foods provide 100% daily vitamins C and E requirements for both adults and children. The results of this study show that Baillonella toxisperma, Pentaclethra macrophylla and Trichoscypha abut can considerably contribute towards the human nutrient requirements. These forest foods also contain substantial levels of health promoting phytochemicals notably flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamins C and E. These foods therefore have potential to promote nutrition and health, especially among forest dependent communities who consume them in substantial amounts

Dietary values of wild and semi-wild edible plants in Southern Ethiopia

Ethnobotanical studies have shown that many wild plant species are sporadically consumed alongside regular food sources in developing countries. Many plants of wild and semi-wild origin are consumed in the remote parts of southern Ethiopia. Dietetic values of Ethiopia’s non-crop food plants, though important in prevention of malnutrition and contribution to food security, remains shrouded for lack of chemical information. The chemical composition of popularly used wild edibles in Hamar and Konso (Xonso) of southern Ethiopia was examined. The most preferred 15 semi-wild and wild edible plants were selected using a mix of standard ethnobotanical field methods. Edible parts of target plants were collected with local participants, lyophilized and analyzed for proximate composition, amino acids, minerals and anti-nutritional factors. The wild edibles constituted good amounts of nutrients essential in human diet. Green leafy vegetables (GLVs) gave 1.5-5.8% ether extractives and total mineral composition of 12.5%-25.6%; Ca being highest (1100 - 3419 mg %) and exceptionally high for Justicia ladanoides (6177 mg %). Fe, Mg, Mn and Zn ranged from 11.7-23.14, 175-2049, 3.4-9.9 and 1.2-3.3 mg %, respectively. All GLVs contained ≥20% protein, highest in Coccinia grandis (36.3%). The latter species and Trigonella foenum-graecum yielded high lysine level. Anti-nutrients of concern include phenolics (158-1564 mg %) and tannins (448-2254 mg %) in GLVs and phenolics (1997mg %) and tannins (6314 mg %) in Ximenia caffra fruits. Total oxalates in mg % were high in Amaranthus graecizans (14067), Celosia argentea (12706) and Portulaca quadrifida (10162). Bulk consumption of monotype edible plant part in one meal may lead to nutritional and health impairment. However, traditional processing methods lower most of the anti-nutritionals and their respective risks. New food composition tables that integrate indigenous knowledge and nutritional content of the semi-wild and wild edibles are recommended. Wild edibles can be considered to improve livelihood security and reduce malnutrition in tune with the Millennium Development Goals aimed at reducing poverty and hunger

Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium africanum in Ghana

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium africanum comprises two phylogenetic lineages within the M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and is an important cause of human tuberculosis (TB) in West Africa. The reasons for this geographic restriction of M. africanum remain unclear. Here, we performed a prospective study to explore associations between the characteristics of TB patients and the MTBC lineages circulating in Ghana. METHOD: We genotyped 1,211 MTBC isolates recovered from pulmonary TB patients recruited between 2012 and 2014 using single nucleotide polymorphism typing and spoligotyping. Associations between patient and pathogen variables were assessed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Of the 1,211 MTBC isolates analysed, 71.9 % (871) belonged to Lineage 4; 12.6 % (152) to Lineage 5 (also known as M. africanum West-Africa 1), 9.2 % (112) to Lineage 6 (also known as M. africanum West-Africa 2) and 0.6 % (7) to Mycobacterium bovis. Univariate analysis revealed that Lineage 6 strains were less likely to be isoniazid resistant compared to other strains (odds ratio = 0.25, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.05-0.77, P < 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that Lineage 5 was significantly more common in patients from the Ewe ethnic group (adjusted odds ratio (adjOR): 2.79; 95 % CI: 1.47-5.29, P < 0.001) and Lineage 6 more likely to be found among HIV-co-infected TB patients (adjOR = 2.2; 95 % confidence interval (CI: 1.32-3.7, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings confirm the importance of M. africanum in Ghana and highlight the need to differentiate between Lineage 5 and Lineage 6, as these lineages differ in associated patient variables

Collaborative effort to operationalize the gender transformative approach in the Barotse Floodplain

Agricultural interventions that aim at alleviating rural poverty have important gender implications. The paper explores a Gender Transformative Approach recognizing that fishing, post- harvest processing, and trading are all gendered activities. On the Barotse Floodplain (Zambia) women are relegated to perform tasks within less profitable nodes of the fish value chain. The assessment of ecosystem services in a select number of Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) focal communities included women’s and men’s perspectives and diverse provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services.Cultivate Africa’s Future Fund (CULTIAF

The Cybersecurity Preparedness of Local Election Offices: Influences, Challenges, and the Intergovernmental Perspective

Recent events have heightened concerns over the cybersecurity of US elections. In the decentralized US election system, counties and municipalities have primary responsibility for election administration. Therefore, protecting elections from cyber threats is largely the responsibility of local governments. Variation across local election offices in their cybersecurity capacity and preparedness is likely given the diversity of local government entities that exist in the United States. This study explores which factors influence the cybersecurity preparedness of local election administration offices. Literature on US election institutions, local government capacity, intergovernmental relations, emergency management, and the digital divide was reviewed to identify potential factors and build a framework for analysis. Using quantitative and qualitative primary data, this study explores how the resources and other internal characteristics of local election offices, characteristics of local jurisdictions and their populations, and intergovernmental partnerships may influence the cybersecurity preparedness of local election offices. The findings suggest that a local election administration office’s resource availability, technology use, and intergovernmental coordination are related to their cybersecurity preparedness. The influence of the human resources within local election offices on their cybersecurity preparedness is apparent through both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. A relationship between the use of electronic pollbooks by local election jurisdictions and the cybersecurity preparedness of local election offices stands out across quantitative models. The importance of relationships with intergovernmental partners was emphasized throughout expert interviews

Social embeddedness, 'choices' and constraints in small business start-up : black women in business

PhDHistorically, black women's labour market experiences in the UK have been largely framed by factors that encouraged the racialisation of women's work. migration patterns, changes in the global economy and government policy which led to concentrations of black women working in employment personal and health services and hotel and catering services. Self-employment seems to offer minority groups a way out of the gendered and racialised employment structures. This doctoral thesis demonstrates the lack of attention given to the experiences of black women. that is. those for whom the literature on a) gender and, b) ethnicity provide only a partial account. This thesis has sought to address this partiality. Critical insights emerge from the adoption of an original, in-depth and multi-layered qualitative methodological approach to the examination of the motivations and start-up experiences of black women in the legal and African-Caribbean hairdressing sectors, examining macro, meso and micro influences on their self-employment experiences. The thesis establishes a link between the wider structures of gender, ethnicity and class set within specific historical and contemporary sectoral contexts, and black women's self-employment experiences. The study also demonstrates the intersectional nature of the influence of these structures, highlighting black women's entrepreneurship as being framed by an interlocking influence of gender, ethnicity and class in contrast to the one dimensional perspective of much current literature. Using Pierre Bourdieu's sociological concepts of field, habitus, strategies, dispositions and capital within a feminist paradigm the thesis contributes to a growing body of post-colonial feminist literature through a reconceptualisation of the relations of dominance and resistance in the self-employment experiences of black women. It also offers policy makers concerned with the use of self-employment as a means of addressing the inequalities that black women face in the labour market and BME women's under-representation in self-employment. a new understanding of the dynamics of black women's business experiences that will aid in the formulation of policy and support initiatives that meet the needs of black women.Small Business Servic

Biofilms and biocompatibility: discovering alternative targets for preventing biomaterial-associated infections

Medical implants are increasingly being utilised to either restore function after injury or disease. This has presented two main challenges that threaten long-term implant performance. First, biomaterials pose as a substantial risk for bacterial infections and as each implant procedure has an innate risk of infection, the number of biomaterial-associated infections keeps rising. Second, the foreign body response induced by the implant can result in undesired fibrotic encapsulation of implants. This work focused on the influence of micrococcal nuclease (Nuc1). Whether its activity on biofilm formation can be modulated by biomaterial hydrophobicity in vitro as well as the role it plays in biofilm formation both in vivo. Likewise, this project investigated the prospects of utilizing polymer coating to prevent bacterial adhesion and modulate the foreign body response. Results indicated that in vitro, biofilms could grow in the presence of Nuc1 activity. Also, Nuc1 and solid surface hydrophobicity influenced biofilm 3D-architecture in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, Histological analysis showed that Nuc1 stimulates S. aureus to form biofilms, the presence of which extended neutrophil extracellular trap formation up to 13 days after mesh implantation. In Chapter 5 poly-N-isopropylmethacrylamide nanogel coatings prevented severe biofilm formation on surgical meshes while Chapter 6 showed that poly(ester amides) inhibited S. aureus growth and biofilm formation. Furthermore, Chapter 6 showed that poly(ester amides) promoted better tissue replacement with less fibrosis than poly(lactide-co-glycolides). The major implications of this study are that targeting Nuc1 activity could be a novel strategy in preventing biomaterial-associated infections and that poly(ester amides) are more biocompatible than poly(lactide-co-glycolides)